Danny Elfman, American Composer (1953- )

ELFMAN

Concerto: “Eleven

Eleven”

STRAUSS

Death and Transfiguration, Dance of the Seven Veils from

Salome

Danny Elfman’s

Violin Concerto

Today’s concert focuses not only on the renowned

concert music of Danny Elfman, but on a style of music

that doesn’t tell a complete narrative. Rather, today’s

selections paint a picture of a feeling, or an emotion, or a mysterious land-

scape, by only using the power of music. Read on to find out more!

Friday, October 18

REPERTOIRE

Danny Elfman is an American composer most well

known for his film music. He has composed music for

film and TV such as The Simpsons, Men in Black, and

Avengers: Age of Ultron. and has worked with pioneer-

ing directors such as Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Guillermo del Toro and Ang

Lee. In 2004, Elfman began writing for the concert hall, such as Serenada

Schizophrana (2005), Rabbit and Rogue (2008), and Eleven Eleven (2017).

Danny Elfman work-

ing with longtime

creative collaborator

and director, Tim Bur-

ton, on Alice in

Wonderland (2010).

10:30am

This concerto, or larger-scale

piece for an orchestra and a solo

instrument, is approximately 40

minutes in duration and is divided

into four movements. It features

lyrical melodies inspired by early

20th century music, as well as

more modern rhythms and har-

monies. The title comes from

the measure count, which hap-

pens to be exactly 1,111 meas-

ures long. The piece was written

in collaboration with violinist

Sandy Cameron.

Elfman’s concerto has a symmetrical form

within the movements. This means that, while

the movements do continue using thematic ma-

terial from one movement to the next, there is

also a direct mirrored relationship between the

first and last movements, as well as with the

two middle movements. Be sure to see if you

can hear this form!

Sandy Cameron started playing professional

violin in the Netherlands by the time she was

12 years old. Since then, she has traveled the

world and performed in such places as Russia,

Australia, South Korea, Tokyo, London and

Germany.

While performing

with Cirque de

Soleil in Los Ange-

les, she met com-

poser Danny Elf-

man, and collabo-

rated with him on

several projects,

including Elfman’s

“Eleven Eleven”

concerto.

Sandy Cameron, violin soloist

Page 2

Concerto for Violin & Orchestra: “Eleven Eleven”

composed in 2017, duration is 15 minutes

T h e R o y a l S c o t t i s h N a t i o n a l O r c h e s t r a w i t h v i o l i n

s o l o i s t S a n d y C ame r o n p e r f o rm i n g t h e v i o l i n c o n c e r t o .

T h e w o r l d p r e m i e r e o f t h e v i o l i n c o n c -

e r t o i n P r a g u e , C z e c h R e p u b l i c

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18

Premiered in 1890 when he was only 26, this tone poem is

roughly 30 minutes in duration. The composer intended the

music to depict the death of an artist, as he lies in his

deathbed, remembering his youth. Unlike most tone poems,

the poem with the same name was written after the music, as

Strauss commissioned his poet friend Alexander Ritter.

Though a prominent music director and conductor, the 20th century com-

poser Richard Strauss is primarily remembered as a composer. During his

career, he composed hundreds of orchestral and chamber works, 16 operas,

and 10 tone poems, or a one movement piece that depicts a specific poetic

subject. His most well known tone poem, Also sprach Zarathustra, can be

heard in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and his operas are some of the most

performed from his time.

Richard Strauss, German Composer (1797-1828)

Page 3

Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) Duration 30 minutes

1. Largo

2. Allegro molto agitato

3. Meno mosso, ma sempre alla

breve

4. Moderato

Dance of the Seven Veils from “Salome” Duration 10 minutes

Salome is Strauss’ third opera, completed in 1905, based on a

play by Oscar Wilde, and tells the story of a princess, Salome,

and her numerous lovers. At the time, the opera was quite

infamous, as Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils was deemed

too seductive by the opera-going public. After its American

premiere, it was banned for almost 30 years. Today, it’s one of

Strauss’ most famous operas.

The music for the dance itself is designed to sound flirty, excit-

ing, and slightly menacing, just like the character of Salome her-

self. While listening to this piece, imagine what the dance could

possibly look like. Dance of Salome. Armand Point, 1898

Explore and Learn:

The pieces performed today might not tell an entire story all on their

own, but rather suggest a mood, or what a specific moment in time

feels like. What moods and feelings did the music suggest to you? Did

you feel as if the music was similar or different to what the composers

intended? Why?

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

As Buffalo’s cultural ambassador, the Grammy Award-winning

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, under Music Director JoAnn

Falletta, presents more than 120 Classics, Pops and Youth

Concerts each year. Almost 55,000 people are reached

yearly through the Orchestra’s educational programming.

Since 1940, the orchestra’s permanent home has been

Kleinhans Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark designed

by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with an international reputation as

one of the finest concert halls in the United States.

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor

Friday Morning

Concert Series

BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA

education@bpo.org